Put down the rhetoric

President Barack Obama called law enforcement officials to the White House this week in an attempt to rally their support for gun legislation.

President Barack Obama called law enforcement officials to the White House this week in an attempt to rally their support for gun legislation.

"If law enforcement officials who are dealing with this stuff every single day can come to some basic consensus in terms of steps that we need to take, Congress is going to be paying attention to them and we'll be able to make progress," Obama said.

The president faces an uphill battle in Congress. Many, including some Democrats, aren't enamored of the idea of restrictions that are constitutionally worrisome at best and flat-out ineffective at worst.

What exactly is an assault rifle, for example? You have to be able to define it to restrict it. An earlier assault rifle ban had manufacturers simply redesigning their weapons to circumvent the law.

More reasonable, and more widely supported, are restrictions on high-capacity ammunition clips and point-of-sale background checks.

Obama seems to understand the opposition he faces. He also understands that anti-gun forces need to lower their level of rhetoric.

Obama told The New Republic he has "a profound respect" for the tradition of hunting that dates back for generations.

"And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake. Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas," he said.

It would be refreshing if the National Rifle Association lowered its rhetoric too, refreshing and shocking.

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